Former owner of Public Bar to sue city for allegedly running him out of business

HILLARY FEDERICO, Press Staff

Published 12:00 am, Tuesday, August 24, 2010

MIDDLETOWN - The former owner of the now closed Public Bar & Grill announced in a notice Monday that he intends to sue the city and a state agency for actions that he says ran him out of business.

In the most recent of three claims filed at the town clerk's office, Tyler DeVecchis, a young business-owner from Rocky Hill, is saying that the City of Middletown engaged in bullying tactics -- "harassment, intimidation and relentless pursuit of contrived violations" -- which ultimately forced him to close his establishment on April 24.

In the same document, DeVecchis and his lawyer Sally Roberts of the Law Office of Peter Upton & Associates, LLC, cite emotional distress, loss of dignity and violation of his civil rights as some of the reasons as to why he is taking action.

A call placed to Roberts' office was not immediately returned.

Since Public opened its doors in 2006, the restaurant's short but complicated history has been wrought with problems.

For instance, in December 2009 the city determined that a change in use of the establishment's lounge area constituted an illegal expansion and the owner was issued a cease and desist order requiring Public to stop using the additional space until it had approval from the Planning and Zoning Commission.

Shortly thereafter, the establishment's liquor license was suspended after an entire on-duty shift had to respond to a fight which broke out among several patrons. This also prompted an investigation by the Department of Consumer Protection.

Farrell Jr. signed a rare order for a summary suspension, which allows the department to suspend a liquor license without a hearing if public health and safety is in danger.

Over the course of a year, a high volume of phone calls were made to the Department of Consumer Protection and the police department citing incidents of underage drinking and a number of brawls at the establishment.

Giuliano said that he has yet to see the actual claim but when asked whether or not DeVecchis' claims will hold water, Giuliano simply said, "No."

Because this is a pending legal matter, both McMahon and Giuliano said they are not at liberty to comment on the situation.

"If he's gonna sue, he's gonna sue," Giuliano said.

The building where Public was previously located is now under new ownership and a new name -- Downtown Bar & Grille.